"We are delighted it has passed the Senate today and are hopeful the Assembly will act before the end of its legislative term," said Independence Party Executive Committee member and attorney Harry Kresky, who helped Governor George Pataki's staff draft the legislation.

Because I&R requires amending the Constitution, both houses of the Legislature have to pass the bill twice.

"In passing this bill the state Senate has shown its responsiveness to the citizens of New York, who should have the right to create laws directly. Initiative and referendum gives them that right," said Frank MacKay, state chairman of the Independence Party.

Under I&R, residents can circumvent their local legislators and get something on the ballot by obtaining the mandated signatures. Residents are able to initiate or introduce legislation or amendments. Referendum means people have the ability to refer new laws by petition directly to the ballot and also to repeal laws that were recently passed. Campaign finance reform and term limits are proposed reforms that were introduced by local citizens.

NYS Assemblyman Steve Levy (D-Sayville) recently introduced an I&R proposal. "Sometimes different versions of the same bill get passed in each house. Then the bill never becomes law because of the differences," said Levy.

"While my original bill called for 2.5% of the signatures of those who voted in the last gubernatorial election, this bill requires 5%. I feel that one-half a loaf is better than none at all," said Levy. He explained that his bill originally called for a minimum of 5,000 signatures per congressional district. He feels obtaining 10,000 signatures from each congressional district would be "extraordinarily hard to obtain."

"Once initiative and referendum are law, all other reforms on the budget and open government can flow. This process gives people the opportunity to bypass politicians and to help reform state policies where need be," said Levy.

Levy credited the extra momentum this year on the I&R bill to the fact that the Independence Party is strongly endorsing it. In the past, I&R proposals were introduced by minority members and did not garner enough support. Levy is the first majority member to introduce this bill.

Twenty-four states currently have I&R. Supporters claim I&R will stimulate voter participation while holding the government accountable. Under this proposal, local citizens can shed light on issues that are important in their lives.

Opponents of I&R feel that by allotting this power to citizens, the ballot will become clogged with contradictory laws or just an influx of proposals. Pataki's bill only allows four measures to be introduced during each election. Each measure would have to garner broad support, since 5,000 people from three-fifths of the state's congressional districts would have to endorse it.